Winners will receive their awards during the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, June 17 at NACDA’s 50th Annual Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida.

NACDA Executive Director Bob Vecchione explains the ADOY Award is essential because it highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.

“Since 1998, NACDA has been highlighting the notable contributions made by athletics directors across all divisions of our membership,” said NACDA Executive Director Bob Vecchione. “These 28 winners have been recognized by their peers for their outstanding work on campus, in their community and supporting their student-athletes. We look forward to recognizing their significant achievements at our 50th Anniversary Convention this June.”

All NACDA-member directors of athletics in the United States, Canada and Mexico who met the criteria were eligible for the award. Among the criteria were service as an AD for a minimum of five academic years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD’s institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control within the last five years during the tenure of the current athletics director.

Former Omaha Benson High School star Khyri Thomas has signed a letter-of-intent to play basketball at Creighton. Thomas, the captain of the Omaha World-Herald’s All-Nebraska Boys Basketball team in 2014, spent last year at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Va.

He will join fall signees Martin Krampelj, Justin Patton and Marlon Stewart on the Creighton roster next season and have four years of eligibility remaining.

“We are thrilled to add Khyri to our basketball program,” said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. “He is a tremendous athlete that has the ability to score from the perimeter and attack the rim on offense, while having a chance to become an elite defensive player because of his length and ability to defend multiple positions. His humble and unselfish approach to the game is exactly what we look for in a student-athlete.”

Thomas is a 6-foot-3 guard who hails from Omaha. He led Class A as a senior in high school when he averaged 19.2 points per game while contributing 6.9 rebounds per contest. Thomas was named the state’s Mr. Basketball by NebraskaHSHoops.com, and he led all players at the 2014 state tournament by scoring 78 points in three games while leading his team to a third-place finish. Thomas also surpassed 1,000 career points at Benson, where he was coached by former Creighton big man Donnie Johnson.

Thomas has spent the past year playing for Matt Donohue at Fork Union, where he averaged 18 points and seven rebounds per game.

Fork Union boasts a proud history and includes former NBA guard Shammond Williams, Under Armour Founder/CEO Kevin Plank, and Heisman Trophy winners Vinny Testaverde and Eddie George as alums.

Creighton went 14-19 last season under the direction of Greg McDermott, who owns 121 victories and three trips to the NCAA Tournament in five seasons with the Bluejays.

After a day off the red hot Husker baseball team is back at Hawks Field today, where they are undefeated at 10-0 and bring a ten-game win streak into today’s game with Cal State-Fullerton, a team the Huskers have never beaten. The Titans own an 8-0 record against Nebraska and come into this two game series with a 1-5 road record. NU freshman Garret King will start today’s game.

Congratulations to Creighton baseball coach Ed Servais. He picked up his 400th coaching victory with the Bluejays on Sunday in their 8-3 win over Stony Brook. 400 wins, 237 losses, a .628 winning percentage. He has led the Bluejays to the NCAA tournament four times and guided the baseball program to the school’s first BIG EAST regular-season championship last season. The Bluejays hold an 19-7 edge on Air Force. The last meeting between the two teams came in 2011 as Creighton posted an 11-9 win on March 16. The two teams were scheduled to meet in 2013 but the game was washed out by rain. Air Force has taken three of the last four meetings. Coach Servais is 5-3 in his career against the Falcons.

Busy time for the Nebraska softball team. They’re over in Iowa for a doubleheader and it just gets busier. NU will play eight games against four opponents in three cities in the span of eight days. Some interesting stats. Nebraska is averaging 7.2 runs per game this season. The school record is 5.7 runs per game, set last season, the Huskers have won their last six Big Ten games, but are 0-6 on the road.

Down 16 points with 16 minutes remaining, the Creighton women’s basketball team got to within three in the final two minutes but came up short as Creighton fell, 68-58, in the opening round of the WNIT Tournament on Thursday, March 19. The loss ended Creighton’s season at 17-14.

The Bluejays fell behind 30-12 with 6:36 showing on the clock, but closed the half on a 12-6 run to go in at the break down 36-24. South Dakota opened the second half much like it did the first, scoring five straight to push its lead to 41-24 (18:24). The Coyotes led by as much as 16 on two separate occasions, including 48-32 (14:59).

Creighton pulled within three at 54-51 and again at 56-53, but each time South Dakota had the answer.

Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 12 points during a game-ending 15-4 run as Georgetown defeated Creighton, 60-55, on Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST Tournament.

Second-seeded and 23rd-ranked Georgetown (21-9) advances to Friday’s semifinal and will meet the winner of the Butler/Xavier nightcap. Creighton fell to 14-19 with the loss.

Georgetown took a 31-25 lead into the half, making its final three shots and closing the first half on a 10-2 run. Smith-Rivera led Georgetown with eight points in the first half, while James Milliken made all four of his shot attempts and led all scorers with 11 points in the first half.

Georgetown would hold on to a narrow lead for the first 11 minutes of the second half before Creighton finally pulled ahead on an Austin Chatman three-pointer with 8:46 left. That was part of a 9-0 run that saw the Bluejays take their largest lead at 51-45 5:49 remaining.

Georgetown rallied with a 9-2 for a 54-53 lead 2:01 to play. GU made it a three-point game on a double-clutch Smith-Rivera bank shot with a minute to play. After a CU turnover, the Bluejays were forced to foul and Smith-Rivera sank two foul shots with 18.0 left to make it 58-53.

Chatman got a tip-in with 3.9 ticks left to get within three, but Smith-Rivera was fouled with 3.2 seconds left and sank both for the final margin.

Smith-Rivera led Georgetown with 25 points Georgetown also had 11 steals while forcing 18 Bluejay turnovers. Milliken paced the Bluejays with 17 points while making his first six shots, while Chatman recorded 11 points in his 104th consecutive start.

Senior Will Artino had four straight second half baskets to start a 13-2 run as 10th seeded Creighton defeated seventh-seeded DePaul, 78-63, on Wednesday evening in the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

With the win, Creighton (14-18) advances to play second-seeded Georgetown in Thursday’s third quarterfinal, which is slated to start at 6:01 pm Central and be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1. DePaul ends its season at 12-20.

Creighton led for all but 17 seconds in the first half, and that DePaul lead was quickly erased by one of three three-pointers from James Milliken. Milliken led all players with 15 points in the first half.

The Creighton men’s basketball team gave fourth-ranked Villanova all it could handle on Tuesday night, but in the end the Wildcats escaped Omaha with a 76-72 win over the host Bluejays. The setback marked the sixth league defeat this season in which Creighton led in the final minute.

Creighton (13-17, 4-13 BIG EAST) trailed by five in the final seconds before an Austin Chatman three-pointer with 6.4 left got the Jays within two. After an offensive foul by the Wildcats on the inbounds pass, the Jays had one last chance for victory, but Will Artino’s runner hit the front rim and rolled off. Ryan Arcidiacono, who gave ‘Nova the lead for good with a three-point play with 50.3 ticks left, grabbed the rebound and hit two free throws with 0.4 left to seal VU’s win.

Creighton closes the regular-season on Saturday when it hosts Xavier in a 1:01 pm game.

Creighton built a 22-7 lead in the first 11 minutes and survived a furious DePaul comeback to give Greg McDermott his 400th win as a head coach on Tuesday night in a 75-62 win. Creighton improved to 13-15 (4-11 BIG EAST) with its fourth win in the past seven games, while DePaul fell to 12-17 (6-10 BIG EAST).

After falling behind 20-5 in the first meeting last month, Creighton nearly turned the tables on the Blue Demons while racing to a 19-6 lead in the first 10 minutes and 22-7 advantage after 11 minutes. After scoring on just two of its first 16 possessions, DePaul heated up with scores on six straight trips up the floor to get within 22-15 before a Toby Hegner jumper quelled the rally. Creighton would head into the intermission leading DePaul 34-27, as the Jays were paced by eight points from James Milliken and 12-of-24 shooting from the floor as a team.

DePaul steadily chipped away at Creighton’s lead, tying the score on Jamee Crockett’s jumper with 13:15 to play at 40-40. After an Austin Chatman three-pointer, DePaul quickly answered on Forrest Robinson’s long-range heave.

Creighton would do just enough and not fall behind, despite repeated bursts from the hosts. DePaul had one shot to move ahead with 6:27, but Durrell McDonald’s trey from the right corner was long.

After that close call, CU get a bucket from Milliken and scores by Chatman and Will Artino in a 9-0 run to move ahead 65-54 with 2:02 to play, and the Blue Demons never got closer than nine the rest of the night.

Milliken led Creighton with 18 points, while Chatman had 12 and Artino had 13 points off the bench. Creighton won the rebound battle, 38-22, and outscored DPU 18-6 after an offensive rebound.

Roosevelt Jones’ bank shot with 1.9 seconds left lifted No. 19 Butler to a 58-56 win over Creighton on Monday night before a sellout crowd of 17,971 fans at CenturyLink Center Omaha. The Bulldogs trailed 54-48 with three minutes to go before closing the game on a 10-2 run, including the final five from Jones.

Jones’ game-winner with 1.9 seconds left marked just the fourth time in 201 all-time games at CenturyLink Center Omaha that Creighton lost a game on points in the final 10 seconds by the opponent, but second this season. It was the “latest” game-winner by an opponent in the building’s history, edging out the dagger three-pointer hit by Seton Hall’s Sterling Gibbs on January 10th with 2.2 ticks left. Both Seton Hall and Butler were ranked No. 19 in the country.

Down 54-48 with less than three minutes to go, Kellen Dunham made a lay-up. He led Butler with 18 points. Alex Barlow would then steal a pass and go coast-to-coast for a lay-up, then sink a free throw to draw the Bulldogs within one. Butler’s run stretched to eight straight points on Jones’ three-point play with 1:52 remaining, giving Butler a 56-54 edge.

Creighton came back and battled with two offensive rebounds and a putback to tie the game. The teams traded misses and on Butler’s next possession, they gained an offensive rebound and were able to hold for the final shot.

Austin Chatman and Devin Brooks both had 17 points for Creighton, which fell to 12-15 (3-11 BIG EAST).

Creighton shot 43.8 percent for the game, including 7-for-20 from three-point range (35.0 percent). Both teams had 29 rebounds, and CU had 15 assists against just eight turnovers.

Creighton had five men score in double-figures and overcame a seven-point second-half deficit at Xavier as the Bluejays handed the Musketeers their first home loss of the season, 79-72 in overtime, at Cintas Center on Wednesday.

Creighton improved to 11-13 on the campaign (2-9 BIG EAST), while Xavier dropped to 14-9 (5-6 BIG EAST) and had its 12-game home streak snapped.

Creighton broke free from an 11-all tie with a 9-0 burst that included a pair of three-pointers from Rick Kreklow and a breakaway lay-up by Devin Brooks. Kreklow drained a third trifecta from the left corner to put CU up 23-13 with 7:15 left in the first half.

Xavier responded, doing much of its work at the free throw line to get within one point late in the half before Brooks scored in the waning seconds to provide the Jays a 32-29 lead at intermission.

Kreklow sank four three-pointers to lead CU with 12 points at the break, while Brooks did a bit of everything with six points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the opening 20 minutes. Creighton shot 42.9 percent for the half, including 5-of-8 three-pointers.

Xavier opened the second half with a 15-5 spurt to take a 44-37 lead on the Bluejays and prompt a CU timeout. Remy Abell had a pair of three-pointers in that stretch, and the Musketeers took the lead on a pair of foul shots by freshman Trevon Bluiett with 16:14 to play.

Creighton would not go quietly. Geoffrey Groselle scored five straight points and the Jays tied it on a drive by James Milliken as part of a 14-2 run that saw CU go up 51-46 with 10 minutes to play.

The teams would trade baskets over the next five minutes, with the Musketeers going ahead 60-58 on a bucket by Jalen Reynolds with 3:53 remaining. Kreklow drained his career-high fifth three-pointer of the game with 2:47 to play, giving CU a 61-60 lead before Matt Stainbrook countered with a foul line jumper with 2:27 left.

After a CU turnover, Xavier would work the ball in to Jalen Reynolds. His bank shot with 1:42 left gave the Musketeers a 64-61 lead. The Jays draw within one on two Kreklow free throws, then go ahead on a Groselle lay-up with 43.9 left.

Xavier countered as Dee Davis made 1-of-2 free throws with 35.3 left. Creighton let the clock drip down to single-digits, where a lay-up attempt from Devin Brooks was blocked with 1.8 seconds left by Reynolds. Creighton would turn the ball over on its subsequent inbound, but so did Xavier, and the Jays had another opportunity to win in regulation. This time, Chatman’s trey try was off the mark, sending CU to overtime.

Milliken helped CU to a quick start in overtime, drilling consecutive treys to start the overtime session. Xavier would counter each time with free throws, and CU went up 74-69 on a Groselle basket. Xavier got within one on a Dee Davis three-ball with 1:20 left and the Musketeers had a chance to go ahead before Groselle rejected Stainbrook inside.

Austin Chatman pushed CU’s lead to 75-72 with 16.6 left on two clutch foul shots. Xavier would miss on the other end, and Milliken and Brooks iced the victory with foul shots in the closing seconds.

Kreklow paced five double-figure scorers with 17 points while playing 40 minutes. Groselle tied his career-high with 15 points, and Brooks (13), Chatman (12) and Milliken (12) also joined the double-digit club.